Solar Cells at Kagoshima Airport - Joint Project #1 for Kyuden Ecosol

On January 1, the solar power equipment installed on the domestic terminal building at Kagoshima Airport in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture began operating.

Kagoshima Airport Building Co., Ltd., which administers and operates the terminal, undertook the project to both save energy and create a green roof. The 50-kilowatt solar cells were installed at the end of last year on the north side of the building's third-floor observation deck.

The installation is the first join project by Kagoshima Airport Building and Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture-based Kyuden Ecosol Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. that is developing solar power technology. Kyuden Ecosol owns the solar cells while taking care of their design, construction and maintenance and providing its green "onsite power service" to Kagoshima Airport Building.

According to Kagoshima Airport Building, all power produced is consumed in the airport's domestic terminal. The solar cells are estimated to produce about 47,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, which will light the entire lobby on the building's second floor. A 16-ton reduction in annual CO2 emissions is expected as a result.

Kyuden Ecosol is offering to install solar power equipment for businesses and municipalities in the Kyushu area. The company announced that it will set up a large number of solar cells on the roof of Fukuoka Airport's international terminal building in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture and during FY2011 will provide the airport the same service it does for Kagoshima Airport Building.